User blog:Dentface/Dented Reviews - Salt (2010)
You will read this review or I'll dent your head in. ^_^ So I rented the action/thriller movie Salt from 2010. Since it was made a little while back, some of you may not know exactly the plot. Spoilers Ahead Storyline and Plot Basic Storyline The movie centers around a female CIA agent, Evelyn Salt (Played by Angelina Jolie), who is accused of being an undercover russian spy* by a defector. After being accused, she goes on the run from the CIA, and chaos ensues. *A very specific type a russian spy, trained at a young age to be extremely submissive to russian authority. The russian spy she is being made out to be is supposed to kill the Russian President (thus starting an international incident between the US and Russia, as the spy would seem to be an agent working for the US) Plot 7/10 The plot was overall very good. The first half of the movie genuinely has you guessing whether or not Evelyn is indeed innocent, or is indeed the russian assassin. Turns out, she's both. She was indeed trained at a young age to come to the US and kill the russian president. However, during her time in the CIA, she becomes loyal to the US, and deceives both sides in different ways throughout the film. ---- I enjoyed the plot due to it's twists and turns, and the fact that for a good chunk of the movie, you aren't really sure if the title character is good or not. Also, it has quite a few shockers, many people (including the Vice President) are similar agents and assassins just like her. However, there are some things that seem odd, in terms of characters' common sense, which is why I give this category a 7/10 (I.E. when escaping the CIA, Salt creates a poison gas she intends to throw at the incoming guards. However, when she created the poison, it was going right into her face, which would have killed her) Special Effects 4/10 There wasn't really anything here that was too flashy, as it's a realistic story. Nothing like Avatar. Most of the stuff included are shooting people point blank, and minor fires/explosions. A lot of the special effects relied on stunt doubles for Jolie as well. I'd give this section a 7/10, but there was one scene that I just couldn't let slide. After "killing" the russian president, Salt surrenders and is brought into a police car. Once inside, she breaks out of her binds and kills everyone, including the driver. She then proceeds to smash her car into all the surrounding police cars, while unbuckled, with absolutely no whiplash, or flying out of the car's windshield. After smashing every single police car, she drives the car off the side of a bridge, smashing into the road below, again with no whiplash, or flying out of the car. Music Score 2/10 The music was done by James Newton Howard, and honestly, the music is very forgettable. It's generally the same "suspense" tune throughout the entire movie, and doesn't normally convey emotions of sadness or shock. Acting 8/10 & Casting 4/10 The acting was fine, nothing amazing, but it was believable. 8/10 However, in the casting department, it had some issues. Although Angelina Jolie was good in the acting department, she just didn't fit the role. She's very skinny, and on the shorter side, making it extremely unbelievable when she goes up against big burly men in hand-to-hand combat. I personally would have chosen someone like Anne Hathaway for this role, as she has just the same acting chops (if not better) than Jolie, and she'd seem more believable with her body type and fitness. Anne Hathaway also has experience as an agent, and with physically intense roles (See Get Smart and The Dark Knight Rises). Casting goes for 4/10. Although there were other characters in the movie, Jolie's character is the center, and is often alone in most scenes, only going up against no-name operatives and the like. Overall 4/10 I enjoyed watching the movie, mainly for it's ambiguous plot. However, if that wasn't as good as it was, I probably would have regretted watching this movie. I'm extremely glad I didn't go see this when it was out in theatre's, as it is most definitely NOT worth your time or money in theaters. However, I do recommend it for DvD rental from Netflix or Blockbuster. Overall, I give the movie a 4/10. Bonus: The movie has 2 alternate cuts, I enjoyed jumping thru each version to find the differences. Both alternate cuts have different endings from the theatrical cut. Category:Blog posts